paul ryan said there is no democrat who knows the budge like he does. senator gregg is a national leader on fiscal policy and a well known budget expert. he is currently co-chair of the campaign to fix the debt, a nonpartisan effort to reduce the national debt and put america on a better fiscal and economic path. both senators served on president obama's national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform, otherwise known as simpson-bowles. the commission, originally modeled after legislation introduced by the pair, produced a debt reduction plan now hailed as a model of bipartisan compromise on taxes and spending and is the standard against b which all other proposals are measured. now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome senators kent conrad and judd gregg. [applause] >> and, first, senator gregg. >> thank you, mark. appreciate that. that was quite an introduction. [laughter] it's great to be here with leading authorities. i've enjoyed the chance to work with them over the last couple years since i left the senate. they've been a wonderful firm t